College football players to receive $600, free video game from EA Sports

EA Sports will pay college football players $600 to use their name, image and likeness in its upcoming video game. Participating athletes will also receive a free copy of the game when it releases this summer.

Players were able to start opting in Thursday to be included in the game, ESPN reported.

“We feel very proud that we’ll be the largest program, likely the highest-spending program,” said Sean O’Brien, EA Sports’ vice president of business development. “And really an inclusive opportunity with an equitable distribution of funds across the board.”

More than 11,000 active players could be included in the game, titled “EA Sports College Football 25.”

EA Sports used to release a college football video game every year, but it discontinued the series in 2013.

Now it’s back. This year’s game will feature additional NIL opportunities for college athletes through an ambassador program.

A generic avatar will represent players who choose not to be included in the game. Athletes from the service academies can’t receive compensation for their name, image and likeness — but they will still be included in the game, according to The Athletic.

EA Sports said later Thursday that gamers will be blocked from manually adding players who decide not to accept NIL offer. The developer say how it plans to prevent people playing the game from adding the opt-outs, according to the Associated Press.

All 134 Football Bowl Subdivision, or FBS, teams will be featured in this year’s game. Notre Dame was the last university to commit.

“The work that EA Sports is doing to provide over 11,000 college football athletes opportunities to benefit directly from their name, image and likeness is a first-of-its-kind undertaking,” Notre Dame Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick said in a statement. “We’re proud to have been involved in the process.”

ESPN “College GameDay” analyst Kirk Herbstreit and network broadcaster Chris Fowler announced Thursday on social media they will be voices in the game. “College GameDay” host Rece Davis and analysts David Pollack and Jesse Palmer made similar announcements.

This article is based in part on wire service reports.